


Under The Gray Skies

by CrossHime



Series: Grayverse [1]
Category: Konjiki no Gash!! | Zatch Bell!, トニカクカワイイ | Tonikaku Kawaii (Manga), メジャーセカンド | Major 2nd
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Crossover Pairing, F/M, Major 2nd Spoilers, Not a clumsy and ditzy teenager girl, OOC Mizuno Suzume, Suzume is a university student in this AU, University! Suzume doesn't take shit from anyone, University/College AU, baseball AU, yes I went there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:29:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27594836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossHime/pseuds/CrossHime
Summary: The baseball side of society was a horrible mess for female student managers. Not only it's misogynistic, but it was also full of pure insanity. Tsukasa, a freelance agent, and spy is planted within the Tsujidou University's baseball team's personnel while Suzume is there as the new manager for the team. Suzume makes sure that she doesn't fall for any of the Tsujidou baseball players, especially their captain and main catcher, who seemed to have feelings for her.
Relationships: Satou Hikaru | Sakaguchi Hikaru/Mizuno Suzume, Takamine Kiyomaro/Mizuno Suzume, Tsukuyomi Tsukasa & Mizuno Suzume
Series: Grayverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017316
Kudos: 2





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki No Gash Bell!, Major/2nd and Tonikawa. 
> 
> Yay, I'm back with a new crossover AU. A messed up one, that is.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She finds him so annoying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki No Gash Bell!, Major/2nd and Tonikawa.
> 
> Yay, I'm back with a new crossover AU. A messed up one, that is.

* * *

The baseball side of society was a horrible mess for female student managers. Not only it's misogynistic, but it was also full of pure insanity. The rule was pretty simple for the teams' captains and student managers. 

Should a baseball team lose to their opponent in an official baseball game, the losing team must give up one of their managers to the winning team. The only way for the losing team to reclaim their manager was to defeat the winning team in a rematch, which can be difficult, depending on the team's strengths, skills, and intelligence. 

A few team captains referred to their new managers as "walking trophies." Rumors have it that the captains would go as far as to abuse them physically, emotionally, and verbally and one captain abused a manager sexually. Because of these rumors, female managers feared being transfer to the winning baseball teams by force. 

The rumors spread to all women baseball teams, and now those women and their male student managers were determined to overthrow the baseball society system by planting spies in the male baseball teams' personnel and gathered concrete evidence of the system's wrongdoings despite the system condoned the harassment of some female student managers. 

A few head coaches of the university baseball teams did not accept the baseball system, so they secretly treated their managers better and have no zero tolerance for the abuse in private. However, they still needed to abide by the policy in public.

In a society where the sun rarely shined above, its usual weather, which was nothing but gray skies, was indeed a perfect fit for the corrupted baseball system.

* * *

"Did I warn you not to be so careless around the Tsujidou's Vice-Captain?" 

Suzume Mizuno looked at Tsukasa Tsukuyomi tiredly. She wasn't in the mood to hear a lecture from the pink-haired woman as she was still angry at the fact that she was now one of Tsujidou University's baseball team's managers, thanks to the humiliating defeat of Mochinoki University at their hands. Suzume still hasn't figured out why the Tsujidou's captain, Hikaru Sakaguchi, choose her out of the Mochinoki managers. Just earlier, Suzume's negative feelings got the best of her when she threatened Inoue with a sharp piece of a broken glass cup that was shattered into pieces when she flipped her chabudai with a plate of food on it in pure rage. 

"Like I'd give a shit if Inoue snitches on me to Sakaguchi," Suzume responded to Tsukasa apathetically. "Or the fact that Sakaguchi is Toshiya Satou's son," Suzume added as she grabbed a bloom and began to sweep the baseball clubroom's floor. 

"You have to remember your place, Miss Mizuno," Tsukasa sighed as she leaned against the wall and folded her arms, giving Suzume a stern stare. "Even if you are Sakaguchi's senior by two years, he still has power over you. I know that it sucks for you to deal with, but you gotta have to endure it until there's a rematch between Mochinoki and Tsujidou happens, which we don't know when." 

"It doesn't mean that I'm staying quiet about my resentment, Miss Tsukuyomi. Longest I'm here, I'll be giving Sakaguchi hell until he returns me to Takamine." 

"Well, I understand your feelings. Just don't make things worse for yourself." 

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

It's bad enough that Suzume has to wear a tracking bracelet, but there were security guards in every corner of the university's building. What the hell was this, a prison for female student managers? It was an early night, and Suzume headed towards an empty playground park outside of the university. Longest she was still in the Tsujidou territory, her tracking bracelet would not alert the higher-ups. She sat on a swing and thought about what Mario Kunitomo told her about earlier. 

His father, Head Coach Kunitomo, was one of the coaches who disapproved of the "Walking Trophy" term and the mistreatment of the female student managers from some other universities and ordered his baseball players to treat their managers with respect and appreciation. However, Suzume was the only one who remained cautious around the Tsujidou's coaches, the baseball players, and personnel. 

_"Yo, my old man is feeding y'all good quality food and giving y'all freedom, so why are you even complaining?"_

_"You speak of freedom, and here I am, wearing an fucking tracking bracelet."_

_"Well, shit. That's true, but my father can't do a damn thing about it since it's the law for the managers to have a tracking bracelet, and my old man already pissed off the higher-ups for not agreeing with their "Walking Trophies" policy."_

Now, Suzume was feeling very conflicted. What Mario told her was indeed the truth. She and the other managers were fed well, and they were allowed to join the guys for fun activities like a movie night. The young women were allowed to go outside of the university without an escort longest they don't leave the territory. The only time that an attendant has to go with them was when they're ordered to visit other universities to gather data on their opponent's baseball team. 

'Hmph. Sakaguchi hardly bothers me unless he needs me for manager related chores anyway.' 

Suzume has heard a few disturbing stories via gossiping from her fellow managers. She did not like gossip and thought it was too unreliable, but she knew that it was the only way to learn information about other universities outside of the Tsujidou territory. So, far she hasn't heard anything about old her university's baseball team. No news from the Mochinoki territory was good news to Suzume. 

Fortunately for Suzume, she was the only person at the park, having her moment of privacy without disturbance.

* * *

Suzume hated the way Hikaru stared at her sometimes. She hated to be in the same room as him when they'd be alone, hated his condescending attitude towards Mario or any teammate who'd dare to question him, and she didn't even have to like them, and she hated his fake smile and kindness toward her. It's been four months since Mochinoki's defeat, and Suzume wondered if Mochinoki was even trying to win her back. 

"Kiyomaro Takamine!" Suzume has flipped her chabudai in impatience. It flew up into the air before crashing down on the floor, breaking into pieces. "Get your ass over here and win me back, you jerk!" 

"That is the fourth time that we have to order a new chabudai." Hikaru's voice was spoken behind her. "Can you not break something for one day? You're acting like a child, throwing a tantrum." 

Suzume glared at Hikaru over her shoulder. She turned her head away from him and sat in front of her desk, picking up her pencil and began to draw on her sketch pad. 

"What do you want, Sakaguchi? There are other managers for you to bother." 

"They're busy." 

"Oh? Then, go bother someone else. Leave me alone."

"You know that I can't just do that." 

Suzume paused. She was surprised to hear about the other managers being too busy to run errands for Hikaru. She has thought that every manager would be fighting over Hikaru since they were all attracted to him. However, Suzume was different from those managers; she only felt apathetic towards him. 

The truth was that Suzume was very uncomfortable around Hikaru because he's a reminder of her ex-boyfriend, who was also the captain and catcher of the Mochinoki team. Kiyomaro cheated on her, and she broke up with him out of rage and hurt when she caught him in the act, but she never wanted to leave him when it came to their baseball team. Suzume knew that Kiyomaro still needed her for her manager's duties. 

_'I guess I have to keep playing the waiting game.'_

Suzume has to swallow her pride as a Mochinoki manager. She's no longer in Mochinoki. She was now one of the Tsujidou's managers, and she needed to keep herself busy to pass the time like she has been doing in these past four months. 

"I know I shouldn't be questioning you," Suzume turned around to face Hikaru but remained on her knees. "but why did you choose me?" 

"I'll be honest with you," Hikaru just gives her the most genuine smile. "I choose you because you were the prettiest one." 

Suzume dropped her pencil in disbelief. She stared at him in total shock for a few seconds. 

"Wait, what? Is this supposed to be a joke?" 

"No," Hikaru gazed at her passionately. "I'm attracted to you."

"But, I'm two years older than you." She told him bewilderedly. 

"So?" 

"....." 

Suzume did not know what else she can respond to him. His gaze looked solemn enough for her to consider that his feelings for her were sincere, but she taught herself to be cautious of other people, and Hikaru was the type to joke around sometimes. There was a knock on the door, alerting both Suzume and Hikaru.

"Hey, Hikaru," Inoue's voice spoken behind the door. "Coach Kunitomo needs to see you. Also, Mario's at it again." 

Hikaru sighed in grief and glanced at Suzume before he exited her dorm room, shutting the door behind him.

_'What the hell was that about?'_

Suzume was now even more confused than ever. She picked up her pencil and went back to drawing. 

After Hikaru criticized and humiliated his ex-best friend, Daigo Shigeno, the captain and central catcher of the Fuurin University's baseball team, in a practice game, Suzume was determined to keep her guard up at times. 

_'Nice try, Sakaguchi, but you won't make me drop my guard so smoothly.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a concept crossover AU. Not sure if I'd continue it or not.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe she doesn't hate him at all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki No Gash Bell, Major 2nd and Tonikawa

* * *

A week later, Suzume confronted Hikaru on the rooftop, behind a ventilation shaft. 

"Who the hell told you that you can touch my hair during class!?" 

"As I told you a few weeks ago, I'm attracted to you, so I can't help it." 

"Sakaguchi, this isn't fucking funny. You'd better wipe that smirk off your face!"

"I'm not playing a game here, Suzume. I really want to date you." 

Suzume snarled at Hikaru. She couldn't believe this younger guy. Ever since he admitted his attraction to her, she hasn't been feeling strange around him, and he'd flirt with her sometimes when his classmates or teammates weren't around. Did he want to date her out of the girls here? Suzume thought that he had a loose screw somewhere in that brain of his because she isn't given in his fantasies. 

"And I've seen the way you've looked at me, Suzume. You feel something for me." 

"S-shut up!" Suzume snapped at him, changing the subject. "When did you became so infatuated with me?!" 

Hikaru's expression was blank. His eyes gazed at her darkly. Suzume was so startled at this sudden change of him that she felt her knees shaking anxiously.

"Since the day when I first laid my eyes on you," Hikaru told her in a sickeningly sweet tone. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" 

At the moment Suzume questioned, Hikaru grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the wall. She stared into his eyes in total shock and confusion. His eyes showed fear, affection, and animosity. 

"I just want someone to love me..." He admitted to her dolorously. "That's all...." 

"....I'm sorry, but I'm not the right girl for you to love..." She whispered to him, downcasting her eyes in guilt. 

"Why would you degrade yourself?" 

"...." 

Hikaru did not need to know about her past relationship with Kiyomaro Takamine. It was none of his business. Suzume remained silent, ignoring his face close to hers. She hated herself to admit that Hikaru was also attractive. But, only as a compliment. She didn't have romantic feelings for him. She was determined not to fall in love with any of the Tsujidou baseball players, especially Hikaru since she still have feelings for Kiyomaro despite what he did to her in the past. 

'He's two years younger than me. He doesn't know a damn thing about love.' 

"Giving me the silent treatment again, huh?" Hikaru said in an irritated tone, releasing her. "Fine, I'll find out what you're hiding." 

With that, he walked away, leaving Suzume alone on the rooftop. She fallen on her knees and started to shed tears.

* * *

One night, Kiyomaro visited Suzume in her dorm room. She has forgotten that former captains were allowed to visit their former managers once a week. She sat on her knees, in front of a chabudai, facing Kiyomaro, who sat on the opposite side. 

"Why are you taking so long to win me back?" Suzume questioned him in an impatient tone. "Or are you too busy with that pop idol that I've once admired?" 

"Suzume, I'm doing the best I can," Kiyomaro responded to her downheartedly. "We requested a rematch, but the head coach keeps rejecting our requests." 

"What!?" 

"Why would I be lying to you?"

"You cheated on me, so why should I believe you? Because of you, I trust no one anymore. Not even myself." 

Before Kiyomaro could respond, Inoue's voice called out behind Suzume's door, informing Kiyomaro that his time limit was up. Kiyomaro stood up and glanced at her sadly before telling her that he'd see her again in a week and exited her room.

* * *

On the next day, during practice, Suzume tore her eyes away from Hikaru the moment he glanced at her. She carried a bucket of baseballs back to the baseball clubroom. Why was she staring at him earlier? She was just looking at his general direction, not at him directly. Now, he'd think that she was staring at him like she was a lovesick fangirl of his. 

_"You feel something for me."_

Suzume felt her cheeks heated up. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. She still didn't get why he was so attracted to her. Compared to the other managers, she's a plain jane. She entered the clubroom and placed the bucket in the corner. 

"Oh, Inoue told me about your interesting conversation with Takamine last night." 

Hikaru's voice spoken behind her and Suzume felt a chill down to her spine. Her heart quickened, and she quickly turned around to leave, but, He grabbed her by her wrist and placed his other hand on her shoulder as he whispered into her ear huskily. 

"Where do you think you're going? I'm not done talking to you."

"Let go of me, or I fucking scream murder." 

"Too bad for you. Everyone already went back to the dorm rooms. It's only just us here. So, what is this shit I heard about Takamine cheated on you?"

"That isn't none of your business!" Suzume squeaked angrily. 

"You're now one of my team's managers, so it is my business. Is he the reason why you keep resisting me, Suzume?" 

"Resisting you? I don't feel the same about you!" 

"Then, why were you staring at me earlier at practice?" 

"I...." 

Hikaru just smiled at her softly. Suzume's heart hasn't stopped racing. She wanted to kick him where it'd hurt him the most and escaped, but she couldn't find it in her heart to do so. So much for giving him hell as she has declared to Tsukasa. 

"Just admit it," He told her in a soft tone. "You want to move on from him." 

"No, you're wrong-"

"Give me a chance, Suzume. I wouldn't cheat on you." Hikaru embraced her from behind. 

"Please let me go, Hikaru...I need to think." 

"You'll think about us?" He asked surprisedly. "And you called me my given name..." He sounded so happy, and Suzume swore she felt butterflies in her stomach. "Fine, you'll go back to your dorm room and be a good girl for me." 

Did she just manipulate him into releasing her from his embrace? She dashed out of the clubroom, not looking back, feeling guilty now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing =/


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She doesn't think his crush on her is a laughing matter. Yet, she's curious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki No Gash Bell!, Major 2nd, and Tonikawa

* * *

"So, Sakaguchi has a silly crush on you, huh?" Tsukasa burst out in laughter, having a lit-cigarette between her fingers. "What a fucking joke. He may have power over you, but the young fool doesn't know shit about love." 

Suzume frowned at Tsukasa. This was no laughing matter. Ever since what happened inside of the baseball clubroom two weeks ago, Suzume has been anxious, conscious, and extra cautious of Hikaru, and he was indeed a fool for being attracted to someone like her. Tsukasa leaned against the wall and took a smoke from her cigarette. Suzume checked her smartphone, and Tsukasa noticed. 

"I surprised that they haven't taken that away from you."

"My smartphone is being monitored."

"Well, shit. Sakaguchi is making sure that you ain't talking shit behind his back to your ex." 

And that would definitely be a stalkerish behavior from Hikaru, so Suzume hoped that wasn't the case with him even though he already knew about Kiyomaro. Suzume checked the time on her smartphone, and it was indeed the time to head over to the baseball field for a practice game.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with Sakaguchi, but I gotta go."

"Good luck dealing with the new knowledge of his crush on you."

"Do you really have to remind me?"

"I'm just telling you to be careful around him. You don't know what Sakaguchi is thinking at times. Heck, he acts like a cheerful and charming little shit around me, but I know what he really wants from you. He isn't fooling me." 

Tsukasa has a disgusted expression on her face. Suzume just nodded at her. She can trust the pink-haired woman on this one. Tsukasa was two years older than her and has experienced a few horrible men in the past before becoming Nasa Yuzaki's fiance. 

"Well, if you hear anything suspicious about the Tsujidou's baseball team, please let me right now." 

"Of course, Miss Mizuno."

"By the way," Suzume turned her head towards Tsukasa in curiosity. "Just since when you started to smoke?"

"Since the moment that I've finally seen enough bullshit in my life."

"Well, I can't blame you for relying on cigarettes now."

* * *

After the practice game, Suzume returned to her dorm room and began to draw a couple of fruits on her sketching pad. Kiyomaro was supposed to visit her today, but something happened in the Mochinoki territory that prevented him from attending his visits. For a strange reason, Suzume wasn't sad at the news. Usually, she'd been upset if she did not see Kiyomaro for a week. 

"What do you want, Inoue?" Suzume questioned, becoming aware that she wasn't the only one in her dorm room now; Inoue has entered without her permission. "If it is about Sakaguchi, I don't care." 

"Do you think I like to be in here with a crazy chick on my team's captain's orders? Think again." Inoue responded in annoyance. "I don't even know what's going on with Hikaru, but he's heading towards the Fuurin territory." 

"Hmph, to shit on his ex-best friend even more." 

"I doubt he's going there for something so petty." 

Suzume paused on her drawing and blinked in confusion. She just told Inoue that she didn't care about Hikaru's business, yet she's curious why he's visiting Daigo's university's territory. As Hikaru's cheerful smile flashed in her mind, Suzume's cheeks heated up. She shook her head and frowned in disgust. 

_' Why was I thinking of him just now?'_

"And you know the drill. I have to keep both eyes on you until Hikaru comes back." 

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it, right?" Suzume resumed her drawing, trying to disregard her thoughts on Hikaru, but she asked a question related to Hikaru anyway. "Why do you think Sakaguchi is attracted to me?" 

"Because you're pretty. That's why Hikaru's crazy about you." 

Suzume flushed and bit her bottom lip, stunned by Inoue's answer to her question. Then, she burst out in laughter, earning a confused look from Inoue. 

"I'm not even kidding around, Mizuno, so I don't get why you're finding his feelings for you so amusing." 

"I do." 

There was a knock on the door, and Mario's voice spoke out. 

"Yo, Inoue. I need to practice my pitching." 

"Again? Fine. Don't blame me if you bust your arm from overworking. Also, Mizuno's coming to the bullpen." 

"Why do I have to!?" Suzume quickly turned her head towards Inoue, giving him a snarl. 

"Because of Hikaru's orders." 

"Can I a least bring my sketching pad with me?" 

"Yeah, anything to distract you from plotting an escape scheme." 

"And why would I even try to escape when it's too impossible?" 

Inoue just shrugged at Suzume and turned his back on her, putting his hand on the doorknob as she gathered her art supplies. 

"I don't know. Go ask Hikaru." 

"He'll pay for this one."

* * *

At the bullpen, Suzume founded herself sitting between Hirashiro and Kaji at the bench, trying to concentrate on her drawing, but she's irritated with the fact that Hikaru's teammates were peeking at her sketching pad. 

"Do you two got better things to do than peeking at my drawing?" 

"Nope."

"Awww, you're so shy of your drawing skills." 

Suzume hissed at Hirashiro and Kaji. She did not come to the bullpen to be bothered by these two. It was already annoying that she has to be here because of Hikaru's orders. A few seconds later, Hikaru finally showed up and kicked both Hirashiro and Kaji out of the bullpen, ordering them to practice their battling instead. 

As Hikaru told Inoue that he needed to speak with him, Mario growled in disgust and walked away from the mound, muttering about what was Hikaru's problem today. Suzume just sat on the bench, wondering why Hikaru sounded so upset.

"Suzume, Coach Kunimoto needs to see you." 

Suzume wasted no time and gathered her art supplies before leaving the bullpen. She has a bad feeling and felt that she shouldn't resist Hikaru's orders for once. 

_' What the hell happened at Shigeno's university?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filler writing lmao and yes, I did imagine Tsukasa smoking a cigarette.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzume isn't feeling too well in her mental state. Also, Fuurin has a new student manager...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki No Gash Bell, Tonikawa, and Major/2nd 
> 
> Spoiler Warning: Major 2nd manga chapter 191(Based on a fan translation on Goro's and Toshiya' conversation on the chapter. Can be found on the Major series reddit)

* * *

Suzume and Tsukasa stood on the rooftop of an abandoned building located by the Tsujidou-Fuurin border. The clouds were getting thicker and darker, meaning that it's about to rain. The young women brought their umbrellas with them in case. The abandoned building provided secret meetings between undercover investigators, and the rumors about the building being haunted kept curious visitors away. Tsukasa leaned on the fence and folded her arms while Suzume mused about what she has heard earlier; a riot broke out at the Mochinoki territory, preventing Kiyomaro from visiting her. Again. Tsukasa beat her to the point. 

"Toshiya Satou is now the head coach of the Fuurin University's baseball team." 

"What? Is this why Hikaru's been moody lately?" 

"Hmph. Who cares about how Sakaguchi feels? Karma finally arrived at him for mistreating Shigeno during that practice game." 

"But, Hikaru is Toshiya's son. I think it's still wrong for Mr. Satou coaching Daigo's team behind Hikaru's back." 

Tsukasa has given Suzume a suspicious stare. The younger woman covered her mouth and flushed. Why was she defending Hikaru when she knew that Tsukasa was right? Hikaru was getting what he deserved, but Suzume still couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"There you go again, mentioning Sakaguchi's by his given name. Is there something going on between you and Sakaguchi? Because I think you're spending too much time with him." 

"Of course not!" Suzume looked at Tsukasa in disbelief. "He's the one who always approaches me! No matter what where I'd be at, he'd also be there!" 

"Oh, great." Tsukasa closed her eyes in disgust. "Now, you also have a stalker. Well, there's nothing we can't about it since he's the captain and has the right to make your life miserable, I guess." 

Suzume disagreed with Tsukasa. Sure, Hikaru can be annoying sometimes but compared to a few of the captains from other universities that abused their student managers, he doesn't make her life miserable. However, when Hikaru does leave Suzume alone, after a while, she'd start to miss him, entering into her dorm room without permission, which was also strange for her to feel. 

"The Fuurin territory is just near this building. There's your chance for you to escape from Sakaguchi's silly crush on you." Tsukasa suggested to Suzume in a joking tone, adding a giggle.

"So, he can track me down, at the moment my tracking bracelet goes off, alerting the higher-ups?" Suzume frowned at her. "Like hell, I'd run away from him. Especially to a territory where his rival is? The last thing I'd want is to burden Daigo Shigeno even more. 

"I was just joking, Miss Mizuno." 

"Of course, you were." 

Raindrops started to fall. The young women unfolded their umbrellas and walked back inside the building. They'd be useless to Tsujidou if they caught the flu after staying in the rain for too long. As the women walked downstairs, Suzume was intrigued about how Hikaru's been doing ever since the news. This feeling alone confused her, making her cheeks heated up and her heart pounded. 

_' What's wrong with me? Why I'm thinking about Sakaguchi in that way?'_

* * *

An hour later, Suzume headed to the baseball clubroom but froze when she heard voices coming from the clubroom.

"I don't know what's worse," Inoue's voice spoke out in disgust. " The riots happening at the other territories or Hikaru's envy towards Shigeno." 

"Those riots have nothing to do with us, dude." Mario's voice came in. "I'd rather worried about Sakaguchi's mental state. He's our captain, and he could snap at us anytime since Shigeno isn't here to deal with his daddy issues." 

"A riot could happen here, Mario. The other territories despise us."

"You're getting too paranoid, man." 

"Well, excuse me for being so precautious of bullshit, Mario." 

Suzume has stepped away from the baseball clubroom as Mario and Inoue walked out and headed towards the bullpen. Suzume took a deep breath, feeling relieved that they didn't discover her in the act of eavesdropping on their short conversation. She entered the clubroom to gather a few things for the baseball field.

 _'Daddy issues? Well, Sakaguchi hasn't seen his father for a while. I could understand why he might be angry right now,'_ Suzume thought sadly. Then, she felt bewildered with her pity. _'Why would I even care about Sakaguchi's mental state? It isn't my or Shigeno's fault that his father decided to coach Fuurin. I hope a riot does break out at this place, so I can get the hell of here without being noticed.'_ She looked at her tracking bracelet. _'I need to find a way to take this off.'_

Suzume sighed and carried a bucket of baseballs outside. She figured out about her bracelet later on.

* * *

The next day, at the abandoned building, Tsukasa explained why Suzume couldn't take off her tracking bracelet so easily. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'd have to knock out Sakaguchi to get the key to my bracelet from him?" 

"Hey, don't complain to me, Miss Mizuno. It's the way things are with the captains and the student managers. You and Sakaguchi aren't no exceptions to the law."

Suzume's mind was racing right now. She should feel furious at this mistreatment, but for some strange reason, she felt relieved to hear that Hikaru has the key to her freedom as if she wanted to keep staying and serving him as his student manager. She flushed and shook her head. 

_' What the hell is wrong with me?'_

"Anyway, the reason why I called you here because there's someone who wants to see you." 

Tsukasa's reason to summon Suzume to this abandoned building in secret caught Suzume's attention. The young woman stopped thinking about Hikaru for a few seconds and eyed Tsukasa in curiosity while still cautious. 

"Who is this person?"

"You'll see. We're going to the border now." 

"Seriously? But, the guards are there."

"I discussed the guards. The guards, in fact, are undercover agents for my boss's agency." 

Suzume just gaped at Tsukasa in surprise for five seconds until she sighed in relief. It's time to head over to the Tsujidou-Fuurin border.

* * *

A week ago, before an official game between Fuurin and Mochinoki, in a secret conversation, Mariko Nakamura begged Daigo to choose her as Fuurin's manager if Fuurin won. Daigo sympathized with Mariko and accepted her request. Now, as Fuurin University's baseball team's student manager, Mariko, and Chiyo Fuji, her fellow student manager, headed towards the Fuurin-Tsujidou border. 

_'I'll be seeing you soon, my dear friend.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First writing in 2021. Just typing whatever appears in my imagination, I guess. -_-


End file.
